Parents Push Kids to Learn PC Programming

Encouraged by their parents, more primary school children are taking up computer programming to learn how to make websites.
Parents
apparently feel that if their children acquire programming skills it
will help them in future, given the current environment in which kids
are familiarizing themselves with information technology from a young
age thanks to the spread of smartphones and tablet computers.
This
trend has attracted the attention of companies as a new business
opportunity, as illustrated by the number of major after-school private
study schools that have opened courses targeting children who hope to
acquire computer programming skills.
In mid-May, primary school
students expressed their enthusiasm in a programming class run by
Litalico Inc., a company based in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, which operates a
cram school chain.
One child said, "Great! It really moved," while another said, "By changing this number, the character gets stronger."
The class began in April with about 300 children attending.
"Even though I quit an English-language class, programming is fun so I've kept at it," a sixth-grade boy said.
Parents have great expectations for the class.
A
45-year-old company employee from Ota Ward, Tokyo, whose son, a
first-year primary school student, attends the class, said: "In the
future, programming skills will be like today's English-language skills.
It's important for [my son] to become accustomed to programming while
he's small."
In a survey last August of about 620 mothers whose
children were of primary school age or younger, Recruit Lifestyle Co.
found that computer programming ranked seventh among subjects they hoped
their children would learn.